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Battle of the Java Sea

Coordinates: 5°0′S 111°0′E / 5.000°S 111.000°E / -5.000; 111.000
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5°0′S 111°0′E / 5.000°S 111.000°E / -5.000; 111.000

Battle of the Java Sea
Part of World War II, Pacific War

Bombs from a Japanese aircraft falling near the Dutch light cruiser Java in the Gaspar Strait east of Sumatra, Dutch East Indies, on 15 February 1942.
Date27 February-1 March 1942
Location
Java Sea, Dutch East Indies
Result Japanese victory
Belligerents
Allies
Netherlands Netherlands
 United States
 United Kingdom
 Australia		  Japan
Commanders and leaders
Karel Doorman †
Conrad Helfrich[1]		 Empire of Japan Takeo Takagi[1]
Strength
2 heavy cruisers
3 light cruisers
9 destroyers		 2 heavy cruisers
2 light cruisers
14 destroyers
10 transports
Casualties and losses
  • 2 light cruisers sunk
  • 3 destroyers sunk
  • 2 heavy cruisers damaged (one badly)
  • 2,300 killed
  • 3 destroyers damaged
  • 1 transport damaged
  • 36 killed

The Battle of the Java Sea (Indonesian: Pertempuran Laut Jawa, Japanese: スラバヤ沖海戦, romanized: Surabaya oki kaisen, lit. 'Surabaya open-sea battle') was a decisive[2] naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II. Two heavy cruisers, three light cruisers, and nine destroyers of ABDA fleet attempted to intercept a Japanese invasion convoy destined for the Dutch East Indies. However, upon being engaged by the convoy's escorts, 2 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers, and 14 destroyers, they suffered a disastrous defeat which ended ABDA fleet as a fighting force. Starting just after 16:00, the first half hour of the battle was something of a stalemate, with both sides consistently missing their shots. However, the Japanese heavy cruiser Haguro changed the course of the battle when she crippled the heavy cruiser HMS Exeter with an 8-inch (203 mm) shell hit that cut her speed to 5 knots, then sank the destroyer Kortenaer with one of the longest ranged torpedo hits from 22,000 yards. The destroyer Asagumo and others then sank the destroyer HMS Electra, resulting in the allied fleet retreating from the engagement.[3][4][5]

While underway, the destroyer HMS Jupiter hit a mine and sank, but otherwise it seemed the fleet was safe. However, heavy cruisers Haguro and Nachi caught the force in a long range night ambush and attacked with torpedoes to great success. One of Nachi's torpedoes hit the light cruiser Java, which blew up and sank instantly, while one of Haguro's torpedoes sank the allied flagship, the light cruiser De Ruyter, killing Admiral Karel Doorman, who had overall command of ABDA fleet. [3][4][6]

The remaining allied ships attempted to retreat, but were caught by Japanese shipping and destroyed in several smaller scale engagements still part of the overall battle of the Java Sea. The heavy cruiser USS Houston, light cruiser HMAS Perth, and destroyer Evertsen snuck through the Sunda Strait, only to be caught by the escorts for another Japanese troop convoy and overwhelmingly sunk, although Houston and Perth managed to damage the heavy cruiser Mikuma and several destroyers before going down in what became the battle of Sunda Strait.[7]

Ending off the crushing Japanese victory, the Exeter, still crippled by Haguro's shell hit, escorted by the destroyers HMS Encounter and USS Pope, managed to run into a Japanese cruiser force and tangled in a long range night fight. Over 2 hours, both sides consistently missed their shots, shells landing several thousand yards away from each other. Eventually, Haguro and Nachi joined the battle, scoring their first hit 4 minutes later. A flurry of 8-inch (203 mm) gunfire left Exeter dead in the water and disabled her remaining guns and electrical power and set her on fire, finally leading to her crew scuttling the cruiser. Haguro and Nachi, almost completely out of ammo, finally withdrew, while Encounter found herself in a gunfight with the heavy cruisers Myōkō and Ashigara and destroyers Kawakaze and Yamakaze and sank in a blaze of glory. Pope temporally escaped, but within two hours was crippled by the light carrier Ryūjō and finished off by Myōkō and Ashigara in what became known as the second battle of the Java Sea. [3][8][6]

Throughout the course of the battle, allied warships failed to sink a single Japanese ship. The only Japanese losses were the result of a friendly fire incident from the heavy cruiser Mogami, having launched a torpedo spread at the battle of Sunda Strait which accidentally sank a Japanese minesweeper and four troop transports.[9]

While the battle of the Java Sea ended officially after this point, its outcome resulted in devastating consequences in the immediate time following the battle. The engagement completely destroyed ABDA fleet as a capable fighting force, with much of its remainder desperately fleeing the Dutch East Indies for friendly ports in Australia. Many of these ships were hunted down and destroyed by Japanese forces. Even more devastatingly, this battle led to the Dutch navy mass scuttling its fleet at Surabaya as the Japanese invasion of the Dutch East Indies became increasingly more successful. Several of these ships were raised and recommissioned into Japanese service.[10] Untouched Japanese troop convoys successfully landed and wreaked havoc on the remaining allied forces, ultimately culminating when the Japanese successfully captured the Dutch East Indies and its crucial oil fields on 8 March 1942.

Background

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The Japanese invasion of the Dutch East Indies progressed at a rapid pace as they advanced from their Palau Islands colony and captured bases in Sarawak and the southern Philippines.[1] They seized bases in eastern Borneo[1] and in northern Celebes[1] while troop convoys, screened by destroyers and cruisers with air support provided by swarms of fighters operating from captured bases, steamed southward through the Makassar Strait and into the Molucca Sea. To oppose these invading forces was a small force, consisting of Dutch, American, British and Australian warships—many of them of World War I vintage—initially under the command of American Admiral Thomas C. Hart.[1]

On 23 January 1942 a force of four American destroyers attacked a Japanese invasion convoy in Makassar Strait as it approached Balikpapan in Borneo.[11] On 13 February the Japanese captured the major port of Palembang in eastern Sumatra.[1] On the night of 19/20 February, an Allied force attacked the Japanese eastern invasion force off Bali in the Battle of Badung Strait.[1] Also on 19 February, the Japanese made two air raids on Darwin, on the Australian mainland, one from carrier-based planes and the other by land-based planes.[12] The destruction of Darwin rendered it useless as a supply and naval base to support operations in the East Indies.

Battle

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A formation of Japanese twin engined land based bombers under anti-aircraft fire whilst attacking ships in the Java Sea on 15 February 1942; seen from the Australian cruiser HMAS Hobart.
HNLMS De Ruyter at anchor shortly before the battle, Admiral Doorman's flagship
Japanese heavy cruiser Nachi, Admiral Takagi's flagship

Prelude

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The Japanese amphibious forces gathered to strike at Java, and on 27 February 1942 the main Allied naval force, under Rear Admiral Karel Doorman, sailed northeast from Surabaya to intercept a convoy of the Japanese eastern invasion force approaching from the Makassar Strait. The Allies eastern strike force,[13] consisted of two heavy cruisers (HMS Exeter and USS Houston), three light cruisers (Doorman's flagship HNLMS De Ruyter, HNLMS Java, HMAS Perth), and nine destroyers (HMS Electra, HMS Encounter, HMS Jupiter, HNLMS Kortenaer, HNLMS Witte de With, USS Alden, USS John D. Edwards, USS John D. Ford, and USS Paul Jones). On paper, this sounded like a formidable force, but the training of this force was questionable. Belonging to several different navies, the ships had practically no experience in each other's naval doctrine and fighting styles, and most crucially there was a language barrier between the Dutch speaking Karel Doorman and the English-speaking US, UK, and Australian ships, horrifically hindering communications.

However, upon departing, the force was immediately spotted by a Japanese floatplane launched from the convoy's main protection force, commanded by Rear Admiral Takeo Takagi.[1] The main group consisted of the heavy cruisers Haguro and Nachi (the latter of which served as Takagi's flagship launched the floatplane), and the destroyers Kawakaze, Yamakaze, Ushio, and Sazanami. This was supported by second group led by Rear Admiral Shoji Nishimura, consisting of the light cruisers Naka and Jintsū and the destroyers Yūdachi, Samidare, Murasame, Harusame, Minegumo, and Asagumo.[1] Upon learning of the opposing force's movements from Nachi, both groups sailed aside each other at 30 knots to intercept and destroy the opposing force. The Japanese heavy cruisers were much more powerful, armed with ten 8-inch (203 mm) guns each, and superb torpedoes. By comparison, Exeter was armed only with six 8-inch guns and only six of Houston's nine 8-inch guns remained operable after her aft turret had been knocked out in an earlier air attack. While underway, Nishimura's group was joined by the nearby destroyers Yukikaze, Amatsukaze, Hatsukaze, and Tokitsukaze, before being attacked by land based Dutch aircraft and B-17 bombers but avoided damage due to the aircraft's poor marksmanship. Captain Tameichi Hara aboard Amatsukaze noted the planes attacked the Japanese warships, confirming their goal was to mow through the protection force before attacking the convoy and believing it to have been a mistake by the planes to have not attacked the troopships.[4]

The next day was spent anxiously as Doorman's force was tracked by Nachi's floatplane, which radioed their every move to the Japanese fleet, which rigorously practiced in preparation for engaging the enemy. Updates via Nachi's floatplane anxiously worried the Japanese command as Doorman's ships were in a position to pounce on the vulnerable transport ships, but in preparation themselves Doorman ordered his fleet to turn South to refuel at Surabaya. However, upon learning reports of the Japanese fleet, Doorman immediately turned his ships back to attack the enemy. These actions, perhaps somewhat misunderstood, came to the relief of Admiral Takagi, who Captain Hara recalled saying "The enemy ships were staying clear of our air raids on Surabaya, the enemy is in no shape to fight us" as he pitifully laughed. He ordered the convoy to turn around and the escort ships to line into fighting formation.[4]

Afternoon battle

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At 15:48 on 27 February 1942, Amatsukaze's chief spotter Shigeru Iwata located Doorman's fleet at 31,600 yards. Captain Hara viewed through his binoculars, clearly recognizing De Ruyter's masts as the fleet quickly became visible to the other ships. Admiral Doorman aboard De Ruyter in turn located the presence of the enemy force, but could not make out any specific targets as the allied optics were vastly inferior to the Japanese, and only one of his ships, the Exeter, carried any form of radar, and a language barrier prevented effective communication between those two ships. Still, Doorman ordered his ships to turn west, hoping to prevent the Japanese fleet from crossing his T. Ironically, this came to the excitement of Admiral Takagi, with both fleets sailing in a parallel course, Haguro and Nachi, which were training behind the other ships, could catch up to Nishimura's group.[4]

By 16:00, spotters on the Electra noticed Jintsū, leading Yukikaze, Amatsukaze, Hatsukaze, Tokitsukaze, at 16,000 yards, and her 4.7-inch (12 cm) guns fired the first shots of the battle, closely followed by all the cruisers and several destroyers. Every ship aimed their guns at Jintsū, straddling her several times, but not a single shell made its mark. The Naka and her group of destroyers returned fire at 24,000 yards, and their shells were equally ineffective in striking their mark. Both sides rapidly closed the distance, and frustrated by the ineffective gunfire, Nishimura ordered Naka and his destroyers to fire torpedoes at 15,000 yards, letting out 43 torpedoes. A few exploded after running a few thousand yards, while the rest all missed their target. Nishimura's hastiness to engage at long range was later criticized by Japanese admiralty due to the sheer amount of ammunition the Japanese wasted for little if any hits in the initial stages of the battle. Recognizing this flaw, Takagi ordered all ships to close the range and charge the enemy as he watched his heavy cruisers blast away at long range.[4]

First hits are scored

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On the allied side, Exeter, Houston, and Perth all fired on Haguro, which they reported to have blown up and sank with intense gunfire. In turn, Haguro was not even straddled as she and Nachi began to score the actual first blood of the battle. Haguro focused her gunfire on De Ruyter, striking her with an 8-inch (203 mm) shell that blasted apart her axillary motor room, starting a fire that killed one crewman and injured six others. A second 8-inch (203 mm) shell from Haguro punched through De Ruyter's unarmored portions without exploding. Meanwhile, Admiral Takagi's flagship focused her fire on Houston, which Nachi succeeded in hitting with two 8-inch (203 mm) shells, one punching through her bow and the other holing her stern. Even when their shells didn't directly hit, near miss and straddle damage continued to swarm their opponents, much to the dismay of Admiral Doorman.[3][14][15]

In turn, a cluster of Japanese destroyers, Yukikaze, Tokitsukaze, Amatsukaze, Hatsukaze, Yamakaze, Kawakaze, and Ushio close the range as Takagi ordered in the hopes of a torpedo actually making its mark. In turn, Electra switched fire to the cluster as 5.9-inch (15 cm) shells from De Ruyter continued to rain on the collum. One of Electra's 4.7-inch (12 cm) shells hit Tokitsukaze, causing thick white smoke to burst out of the ship, blinding Amatsukaze behind her. A near miss from De Ruyter then lightly damaged Amatsukaze's hull and dashed water on her bridge. However, neither destroyer was critically damaged. In turn, the destroyers engaged in a gunfight with De Ruyter, although no shells hit their mark. Yukikaze and Tokitsukaze let out 16 torpedoes at 6,000 yards, followed by Amatsukaze, then the four other destroyers behind her. 56 torpedoes were aimed at the enemy, yet not a single hit was made.[3][4][Note 1]

Haguro changes the course of the battle

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However, what the torpedoes did accomplish was force the allied fleet to maneuver, causing Haguro to switch fire from De Ruyter to the Exeter, and Exeter responded back. Engaging each other at 22,000 yards, Exeter's gunnery was extremely poor, only managing a straddle by the 8th salvo. Haguro proved to be more fortunate, scoring her first 8-inch (203 mm) shell hit, which turned out to be a dud. However, Haguro fired another salvo at Exeter, which registered a devastating hit. One of Haguro's 8-inch (203 mm) shells gouged into Exeter's engine. It exploded and destroyed six of Exeter's eight boilers. 40 men were dead as Exeter's speed dropped to 5 knots, sending Doorman's fleet into a series of chaotic maneuvers as when Exeter began to retreat, Houston, Perth, and Java all followed her assuming they had missed a command form Doorman, leaving De Ruyter charging at the enemy fleet by herself before being forced to join the other cruisers. Simultaneously, Haguro fired a spread of 8 torpedoes and continued to engage. The British destroyers Jupiter, Encounter, and Electra came to assist the crippled Exeter as Doorman's cruisers began to turn away, laying a smokescreen in an attempt to hide the disorganized formation.[3]

Up to this point, the battle of the Java Sea had been something of a stalemate, with both sides missing their shots due to extreme range. Even when shells did hit, such as Haguro and Nachi's hits to De Ruyter and Houston or Electa's hit on Tokitsukaze, no significant damage was inflicted as said ships continued to fight on. However, Haguro's hit on Exeter sent Doorman's fleet into a flurry. In an ironic twist, the only Japanese torpedo to make its mark during the course of the afternoon battle was one of Haguro's launched at extreme range. 15 minutes after leaving the cruiser, one of Haguro's torpedoes found its mark on the Dutch destroyer Kortenaer. Within an instant, the destroyer broke apart and sank with the loss of 66 men. Launched from a distance of 22,000 yards, this would award Haguro with probably the longest ranged torpedo hit ever fired in naval history.[3]

Destroyer on destroyer action

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The four American destroyers, Alden, John C Edwards, John C Ford, and Paul Jones, fired their torpedoes at Haguro and Nachi, but as expected none made their mark. Simultaneously, the British destroyers attempting to cover the crippled Exeter were engaged by the Japanese destroyers Asagumo and Minegumo. Minegumo stayed at long range and took part in a 1v2 against Jupiter and Encounter, lightly damaging them near misses but failed to score any direct hits. Asagumo in constant closed to point blank range as she and Electa engaged in the naval equivalent of aa point-blank knife fight. Asagumo took on several 4.7-inch (12 cm) shells, temporarily leaving her dead in the water, killing 5 sailors and injuring 16 others. In turn, Asagumo inflicted far more damage than she received, a hellfire of 5-inch (127 mm) gunfire destroyed Electra's A and X turrets, engine room, communications, and electrical power, and set the destroyer on fire. Electra desperately let out a spread of eight torpedoes at her opponent, but none hit, and in response Minegumo switched fire from the other destroyers and joined Asagumo in pounding the already crippled Electra. Western sources sometimes credit Jintsū with assisting Asagumo in her take down, but Japanese records do not support this. Electra's remaining guns were destroyed, flooding overwhelmed damage control, and fires burst out of control under Asagumo and Minegumo's bombardment, and her crew finally abandoned ship and left the destroyer to sink. Encounter and Jupiter had been repelled by Minegumo's gunfire and retreated to assist Exeter.[16][17][18]

Allied retreat

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After almost two hours of fighting, Doorman's ships had not come even close to the Japanese troop convoy. One of his cruisers was crippled, two more were damaged, and he suffered two destroyers sunk, and in turn had only managed to moderately damage one destroyer and lightly damage two others with atrocious gunnery. Doorman decided to cut his losses and retreat back to Surabaya. He still wanted to attack the convoy, but recognized that he simply could not under the current conditions, and retreated back to the direction of Surabaya. The limping Exeter broke off from the force, taking Encounter and Witte De With to escort her. While underway, they passed through the former battleground, rescuing survivors from Kortenaer and Electra. The rest of the force headed in the direction of their home port, successfully fooling Admiral Takagi into thinking the allied ships had retreated to port. However, after the cover of night fall his ships turned back and steamed towards the convoy.

Loss of all allied destroyers

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However, the plan immediately began to backfire. The four American destroyers were running dangerously low on fuel. They had completely expended their torpedoes, and were limited to gun armament, and these factors combined resulted in the American destroyers detaching from Doorman's fleet to retire for Surabaya. Admiral Doorman still decided to absorb the losses and continued to charge on. However, at 21:25, Doorman's lone remaining destroyer, the Jupiter, hit a mine and sank with the loss of 84 men. Rather tragically, the mine that sank Jupiter is generally thought to have not been Japanese, but rather planted by the Dutch minelayer Gouden Leeuw, making Jupiter's sinking a probable example of friendly fire. With Jupiter's sinking, Doorman had not a single destroyer in his force, only his remaining heavy cruiser Houston and light cruisers De Ruyter, Java, and Perth. Despite all of his losses, Doorman still continued to charge on, still somehow confident he could score a victory.[14][19]

Night ambush

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Unknown to Doorman, Haguro's floatplane had been tracking his force the entire time. Rewinding time back, Admiral Takagi believed he had secured a victory as his ships made post battle reformations. Asagumo's crew conducted temporary repairs following her gunfight with Electra, getting the engine back up and running as she regained speed, retiring from the engagement and taking Minegumo to escort her. Haguro and Nachi stopped in the water to recover their floatplanes, which had been catapulted shortly before the battle, but while this was being conducted, one of Haguro's floatplanes still in the air noticed Doorman's fleet was turning back, much to Takagi's shock.[3][4][17]

Nachi anchored off Ōminato on 13 November 1943

Haguro and Nachi instantly picked up speed and raced to engage the enemy yet again. Haguro's floatplane this time tracked Doorman's every movement, acting far more predictably than earlier in the battle. It was just before midnight that their optical systems picked up the enemy force at long range. Steaming at maximum speed, Haguro and Nachi closed to 16,000 yards. Low on ammunition for their main guns, they instead opted for a stealthy torpedo attack, Nachi unleashed 8 torpedoes, while Haguro launched 4.[3][4]

It was at 23:32 that the attack immediately scored a victory. De Ruyter rapidly turned to evade Nachi's torpedoes, evading damage, but one of Nachi's torpedoes continued on and gouged into the Java's stern. The torpedo ignited the magazines to Java's 5.9-inch (15 cm) main battery, and a massive explosion burst out of the ship which blew the cruiser apart in an instant. In under two minutes, Java rapidly slipped beneath the waves, and out of her crew of 526, only 19 survived.[3][14]

Haguro under refit in 1936

Four minutes later, Nachi was upstaged when one of Haguro's torpedoes hit none other than Admiral Doorman's flagship. All power was destroyed as the De Ruyter stopped dead in the water with significant flooding, and a massive fire broke out and enveloped the cruiser in flames. Haguro's torpedo hit killed much of her damage control crew, and the loss of all power disabled much of De Ruyter's damage control equipment, meaning the massive fire could not be put out and spread throughout the ship. Simultaneously, flooding slowly overwhelmed damage control and De Ruyter increasingly listed. Over a period of 3 hours, fires and flooding overwhelmed De Ruyter as she capsized and sank with the loss of 367 men. Admiral Doorman and Captain Eugène Lacomblé were among the dead.[3][14]

Banzai shouts could be heard from Haguro and Nachi's decks, crew members leaped in joy and hugged each other in excitement. Admiral Takagi chose not to attack with gunfire afterwards, knowing Java and De Ruyter were already fatally damaged. The pair steamed out of the area to reinforce the invasion convoy. Depending on the source, they were either undetected, or spotted but allied gunfire was ineffective as usual. With Doorman dead, Houston and Perth abandoned the mission and retreated. Meanwhile, as the US destroyers evacuated the battlefield they ran into Amatsukaze and Hatsukaze. Both sides exchanged fire, but no hits were scored and the US destroyers continued on their path while Amatsukaze and Hatsukaze regrouped with the fleet.[3][4]

At this moment, the battle of the Java Sea was guaranteed as a victory for the Japanese. With almost all of their ships sunk or damaged, the remaining allied warships halted all offensive actions and desperately attempted to flee the vicinity, leaving the Dutch East Indies to the wolves as the invasion convoys pushed through to Surabaya unmolested besides an air raid which damaged a single troopship. The only sort of strategic victory for the allies was giving the troops on Java a one-day respite, which ultimately changed nothing. Perth and Houston proceeded for Tanjung Priok, arriving later that day. However, oil shortages meant they could only be half fueled, and they received no new ammunition.[15]

Throughout the entirety of the first battle of the Java Sea, not a single Japanese ship was sunk, and besides Electra, not a single allied ship even managed to hit a Japanese ship.

Aftermath

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Battle of Sunda Strait

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Main article: Battle of Sunda Strait

Perth and Houston were at Tanjung Priok on 28 February when they received orders to sail through Sunda Strait to Tjilatjap. Materiel was running short in Java, and neither was able to rearm or fully refuel. Departing at 19:00 on 28 February for the Sunda Strait, by chance they encountered the main Japanese invasion fleet for West Java in Bantam Bay. The Allied ships were engaged by at least three cruisers and several destroyers.

In a ferocious night action that ended after midnight on 1 March, Perth and Houston were sunk. A Japanese minesweeper and a troop transport were sunk by friendly fire, while three other transports were damaged and had to be beached.

The Dutch destroyer HNLMS Evertsen had been scheduled to depart Tanjung Priok with the cruisers, but was delayed, and she followed them about two hours later. Her crew sighted the gunfire of the main action, and her captain managed to evade the Japanese main force. However, Evertsen was then engaged by the Japanese destroyers Murakumo and Shirakumo in the Strait, and on fire and in a sinking condition, grounded herself on a reef near Sebuku Island. The surviving crew abandoned ship just as the aft magazine exploded.[7]

Second Battle of the Java Sea

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Main article: Second Battle of the Java Sea

After emergency repairs the badly-damaged Exeter left Surabaya for Ceylon; she departed at dusk on 28 February and limped toward Sunda Strait, escorted by the destroyers HMS Encounter and USS Pope. However, all three ships were intercepted by the Japanese heavy cruisers Nachi, Haguro, Myōkō and Ashigara—and their attendant destroyers—on the morning of 1 March. Exeter and Encounter were sunk together around noon, while Pope escaped only to be sunk several hours later by aerial attack.

Bali Strait

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Further information: USS Alden (DD-211)

The four U.S. destroyers of DesDiv 58—John D. Edwards, John D. Ford, Alden, and Paul Jones—were also at Surabaya; they left for Australia via the harbor's shallow eastern entrance at nightfall on 28 February. After a brief encounter with the Japanese destroyers Hatsuharu, Nenohi, Wakaba, and Hatsushimo in the Bali Strait, which they were able to evade, they reached Fremantle safely on 4 March.[20]

Consequences

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Another Dutch destroyer (HNLMS Witte de With) and three American ships (destroyers USS Pillsbury and USS Edsall, along with the gunboat USS Asheville) were either scuttled or sunk as they attempted to escape to Australia. The main ABDA naval force had been almost totally destroyed: 10 ships and approximately 2,173 sailors had been lost. The Battle of the Java Sea ended significant Allied naval operations in Southeast Asia in 1942, and Japanese land forces invaded Java on 28 February. The Dutch surface fleet was practically eradicated from Asian waters and the Netherlands would never reclaim full control of its colony. The Japanese now controlled one of the most important food-producing regions (Java), and by conquering the Dutch East Indies, Japan also controlled the fourth-largest oil producing area in the world in 1940.

The U.S. and Royal Air Force retreated to Australia. Dutch troops, aided by British remnants, fought fiercely for a week. In the campaign the Japanese executed many Allied POWs and sympathizing Indonesians. Eventually, the Japanese won this decisive battle of attrition and ABDA forces surrendered on 9 March.

Wrecks

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As of 2002 the location of the wreck of only one of the eight ships sunk during the two so-called Java Sea Battles, HMS Jupiter, was known and plotted on an Admiralty chart. However, given her location in very shallow water so close to shore she had already been heavily salvaged.[21]

In December 2002 the wrecks of HNLMS Java and HNLMS De Ruyter were discovered by a specialist wreck diving group aboard the dive vessel MV Empress. Empress then went on to discover the wrecks of HMS Electra in August 2003; HNLMS Kortenaer in August 2004; and HMS Exeter and HMS Encounter in February 2007. When discovered these wrecks were all in a very well-preserved state, save for battle damage.[22] In late 2008, Empress discovered remnants of the last wreck, USS Pope, which had already been largely removed by illegal salvage diving operations.[23]

Although the MV Empress team kept the locations of their discoveries secret, by 2017 all eight ships had been reduced to remnants or even entirely removed by illegal commercial salvage operations.[24][25]'[26][27]

Notes

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  1. ^ Captain Hara claimed one of these torpedoes it and sank the Kortenaer, but post battle analysis proves the torpedo that sank Kortenaer came from Haguro and none of the destroyers


Citations

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j L, Klemen (1999–2000). "Rear-Admiral Karel W.F.M. Doorman". Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941–1942.
  2. ^ Morison, Samuel Eliot (2001). History of United States Naval Operations in World War II: The rising sun in the Pacific. University of Illinois Press. p. 332. ISBN 978-0-252-06973-4.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "IJN HAGURO: Tabular Record of Movement".
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Hara (1961) Chapter 13
  5. ^ 主要兵器, 大日本帝国軍 (3 February 2018). "朝雲【朝潮型駆逐艦 五番艦】Asagumo【Asashio-class destroyer】". 大日本帝国軍 主要兵器 (in Japanese). Retrieved 13 December 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Naval Alamo". www.asiaticfleet.com. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Order of Battle-Battle of the Sunda Strait".
  8. ^ 主要兵器, 大日本帝国軍 (3 February 2018). "江風【白露型駆逐艦 九番艦】Kawakaze【Shiratsuyu-class destroyer】". 大日本帝国軍 主要兵器 (in Japanese). Retrieved 13 December 2024.
  9. ^ "IJN MOGAMI: Tabular Record of Movement".
  10. ^ "Dutch Warship Losses in the Dutch East Indies".
  11. ^ Muir, Dan (1999–2000). "The Balikpapan Raid". Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941–1942.
  12. ^ Horner, David (1995). "The Gunners: A History of Australian Artillery". Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941–1942.
  13. ^ BBC. Fact File: Battle of Java Sea
  14. ^ a b c d "HNLMS De Ruyter of the Royal Dutch Navy-uboat.net".
  15. ^ a b "Houston II (CA-30)". public2.nhhcaws.local. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  16. ^ 主要兵器, 大日本帝国軍 (3 February 2018). "朝雲【朝潮型駆逐艦 五番艦】Asagumo【Asashio-class destroyer】". 大日本帝国軍 主要兵器 (in Japanese). Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  17. ^ a b "IJN Asagumo: Tabular Record of Movement".
  18. ^ Cox, Jeffrey. (2014) p 300
  19. ^ "HMS Jupiter, destroyer". www.naval-history.net. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  20. ^ "IJN Hatsushimo: Tabular Record of Movement".
  21. ^ PacificWrecks.com. "Pacific Wrecks". pacificwrecks.com.
  22. ^ PacificWrecks.com. "Kevin Denlay – Shipwreck Discoveries and SCUBA Diver". pacificwrecks.com.
  23. ^ PacificWrecks.com. "Pacific Wrecks – USS Pope DD-225". pacificwrecks.com.
  24. ^ "Java Sea Shipwrecks of World War 2: One of the men who found them reflects on their loss – All About History". historyanswers.co.uk. 23 November 2016.
  25. ^ "Mystery over Dutch WW2 shipwrecks vanished from Java Sea bed". BBC News. 16 November 2016. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  26. ^ Holmes, Oliver; Harding, Luke (16 November 2016). "British second world war ships in Java Sea destroyed by illegal scavenging". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  27. ^ "Joint Verification of the location and condition of Hr.Ms. De Ruyter, Java and Kortenaer" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 April 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2017.

References

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Battle of the Java Sea.

Further reading

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